Of Dentists, Boxers and Heating Pads
by NIchiki
Summary: You do crazy things, under the influence of love.


Of Dentists, Boxers and Heating Pads

Tapping lightly on the window pane before him as he balanced easily on a small balcony, Kakashi waited a few minutes before opening and stepping inside. The sweet smell of lavender with just a hint of spring rain flooded his senses, making his normally tense body relax and a small smile break out. He would never get enough of that lovely, intoxicating scent as long as he lived. It was one of the small things he looked forward to after a hard mission, or even just running around the village all day, he mused to himself. His foot only managed to touch down slightly before he froze hearing a small groan of pain coming from the living room. Cursing himself for dropping his guard too easily, he uncovered his sharingan and prepared for the worst.

'If anything were to happen to her, I'd never forgive myself.' All pretenses gone, he made his way swiftly and silently towards the sounds, a million scenarios running through his mind, each one worse than the last making his heart clench, a cold lump forming in the pit of his stomach. The copy ninja drew a kunai from his hip pouch, needing to be ready for whatever was waiting for him. Coming around the corner, he spotted Sakura on her side clutching her lower stomach, then proceeded to scan the rest of the room for any enemies. Finding no other chakra signatures nearby, his brows scrunched in confusion and turned back to the petite figure on the couch. Practically diving for the couch, Kakashi kneeled down beside her form on the floor and pushed back a few strands of pink hair that had been obscuring her face, his other hand moving towards her stomach to pinpoint the cause of her distress.

"Sakura? What's wrong? Where does it hurt? Who did it? Where are they? Should I get you to the hospital?" His voice rising steadily in pitch as his anxiety of seeing her in such a state, sending him almost overboard into full blown panic.

Sakura had sensed him as he came through her bedroom window and knew she would have to explain though; she cringed as another squeezing pain made her breath hitch for a moment. She really didn't want to tell him. But the way he was almost hyperventilating, and speaking so fast reminded her so much of a certain hyperactive blond that she couldn't help but smile. She contemplated almost giving him the same treatment to calm him down as the blond. He was so out of it that he might not even have a chance to dodge a hit to the head, and it was quite amusing to see such human emotions from the usually untouchable Copy Nin. Well it would be amusing if he hadn't uncovered his sharingan, which told her that he was being deadly serious.

Sighing to herself, she added a mental reminder to see about a forced vacation for him, or maybe just a really, really easy mission. Something to help him unwind, cause he was going to burn out at this rate, and they couldn't afford to have a seriously stressed Copy Nin out on the loose again. Nor was she looking forward to a repeat performance of a few months ago. Images of Kakashi running around the village in only his shuriken printed boxers, and of course his damn mask ran through her mind. That had been the unfortunate result of too much "happy gas" from the dentist when Kakashi had his wisdom teeth pulled out. What a day that had been. For being such a highly skilled shinobi it was kind of disappointing and quite frankly really embarrassing that they had managed to find him so fast but he made it fairly obvious from the squealing he made as he came across the poster of the new Icha Icha movie. The hugging and kissing of the poster causing most of the villagers to raise an eyebrow and the mothers to cover their children's eyes in horror. Either from the state of undress he was in or his antics she didn't know. But then it's not like he didn't inspire similar responses on a day to day basis. This just seemed to be on a new level of weirdness, which was saying something.

From there the chase had been on. They pursued him through parts of the village Sakura had never seen before and she was fairly sure they wouldn't be welcome there in the near future after successfully startling a bunch of civilians. The did manage to wrangle him towards the Hokage tower where a weekly meeting discussing finances was taking place. In his mind Kakashi must have thought financial talk was too boring, so in order to fix that he had decided to liven it up by dropping his drawers. Which resulted in the roaring laughter of the Hokage and Naruto and the choking shrieks of indignation from the elders. Even poor Iruka, who had been dropping off new missions and was currently walking out of the building had decided to look up at the wrong moment to see what all the fuss was about and had gotten quite a nice view, the sun glinting at just the right angle. Poor thing had to be admitted to the hospital from shock.

Being too distracted by doing a certain hip shaking dance and making Naruto and Tsunade almost have coronaries from laughing so hard, they had managed to get the drop on him quite literally. Well Sakura had anyways, Naruto was too busy inhaling the dust on the ground trying to catch his breath. Whereas Genma had whipped a camera out of thin air and was mumbling something that sounded suspiciously like 'blackmail' making sure to snap multiple pictures, from various angles. Sakura shuddered to think of what had happened when Genma had shown the Copy Nin. Neither had said much on the incident and no one had seen any of the photos. But the ensuing mystery of just how Genma had managed to turn himself such a sickly green had been quite the enigma. On the bright side it had overjoyed a certain Green Beast, loud declarations of how YOUTHFUL Genma was followed him around the village for weeks as he ducked and weaved trying to throw Gai off his trail. Just that had been punishment enough for a lifetime Sakura had figured. After that It had become a taboo subject to anyone who didn't wish a similar fate as a few low ranked chunin had found out one night in a local bar. They had the misfortune of been too wasted to realize the subject of their drunken laughter had been sitting a few tables away from them.

All had shown up the next day in the hospital sporting varying neon colors of the rainbow for a month, much to the nurses' delight. Tsunade had taken advantage of the situation and ordered the chunin to cheer up the kids in the children's ward, spouting that if they had the time to gossip then they had the time to make themselves useful. It was either that or submitting themselves to the academy as examples of how some jutsus could go wrong. Sakura mused that they had caught Tsunade on a particular vengeful day seeing as her sake stash had gone mysteriously missing again. Shizune had denied any involvement in that. Needless to say no one brought it up anywhere near the Copy Nin again after that, no one sane that is.

It had taken both Sakura and Naruto to hold him down while Genma hog tied him with special chakra enhanced ropes, all the while trying to ignore the giggling lump they proceeded to drag back to her apartment. The man was giggling! The whole way there.

"Take no chances," Tsunade hollered after them, still chuckling slightly in amusement from the show she and the rest of the council had gotten earlier. At least the meeting had been interesting, opposed to the regular snooze fest it usually was.

Shaking her head to rid the vision of a pant-less Kakashi Sakura focused back on his terribly concerned face. Tilting her head up she tried to be as vague as she could be hoping he would get the drift and not be the dense block of wood he normally was in social situations.

"Don't worry Kakashi, this isn't serious. I just need some rest is all," She managed with a weak smile. He could see her eyes which were always sparkling, were dulled with pain confusing him further.

'Why would she lie? She's obviously in pain. Doesn't she want my help?'

"Sakura, I don't understand, you're in pain let me take you to the hos..."

Laughing, she cut him off which devolved into another groan.

"Kashi, I'm trying to tell you it's no big deal." She said while laying her hand on his arm gently. 'Please... pleeeease don't make me say it out loud,' she pleaded silently.

"But it is."

"No, it isn't."

"But..."

"Kakashi," she sighed exasperated, "I was trying to tell you without having to say it out loud but obviously this is going over your head. I get these pains at least once a month, so it's ok. These aren't new and are not life threatening." She calmly explained, tilting her head and tightening her hand on him ever so slightly. Her gaze probed his telling him without words to think about what she was saying.

His brows scrunched together, repeating her words in his head. 'Nothing new, not life threatening...once...a...month...OOOOOOOHHHH.'

A slight blush appeared over the top of his mask as he rubbed the back of his head in embarrassment.

"Ah ok, Sakura-chan," he coughed nervously. "Is there anything you need that I can get for you?"

"There's a heating pad in the hallway closet and some pills in the medicine cabinet. Can you grab those for me?"

His eyes creased from a very sheepish smile beneath his mask, "But of course, Sakura-chan." He replied, covering his sharingan back up seeing as how there was no danger present. Not counting mood swings.

Gathering said items, he made sure she was comfortable with her new cuddle friend. Mentally wishing he was that heating pad at the moment, he plumped the cushions around her making sure she was snug in her fluffy nest of blankets and pillows. Thinking that a trip to the store was in order he made the necessary signs and summoned some of his ninken, who were more than happy to keep her company while he was away. Mostly because she spoiled them rotten with numerous treats and belly rubs, though they were brought here for comfort, they were also there to alert him if she needed him. She just didn't need to know that.

Turning back around as he walked to the front door, Kakashi's gaze lingered on the scene spread out before him. There was Sakura, laying on the sofa being surrounded by his ninken as she smiled softly stroking Pakkun, who was currently curled into her tummy and Bull on the floor. Seeing as he was as big as a small horse and could not fit on the couch, had his head laying on the cushion letting her stroke his ears with her other hand, snorting his pleasure making her laugh. Bisuke and Shiba were sprawled around the floor but made sure to stay close to her, making him smile softly. Turning back, he contemplated the idea of seeing this everyday... it seemed so right… his dogs with Sakura.

Sticking to the streets, he made his way down the main stretch where the most concentration of stores were located thinking about things he could get for her. So lost in his thoughts while silently passing stores until he passed the Yamanka flower shop. Hearing his name being called out, he backtracked and spotted a blond waving at him behind the counter.

'INO! Of course she would know what to get for Sakura.' He strolled inside trying to seem like his aloof and lazy self but somehow it seemed she knew something was weighing heavily on his mind. He wasn't really slouching much, which was a big giveaway. There was a more keen edge to his gaze than normal. Ino continued with the current arrangements in front of her and casually remarked on his day, his missions, his health, how Forehead was doing. She smirked knowingly when hearing her nickname for Sakura he perked up, and she watched as his back straightened out more.

'Ahhh, so it's about Forehead then.' She mentioned casually that she saw her on her way to work and back and proceeded to subtly drop hints that Forehead might appreciate some chocolate. Maybe even some ice cream... very helpful for a woman in her position. His normally half lidded gaze was open wide, trained on the young woman in front of him, and she could tell he was making a mental list. Sighing, she took out a pad of paper and pen and wrote it down for him, knowing he would forget half of what she said or turn up with really weird things like onions and turnips. Yeah, she could see that happening.

Half an hour later found him heading to a store grocery list in hand, almost glad she had made him stay so long to tell him what everything she wrote down did for Sakura's affliction. He couldn't believe how much stuff women had to go through once a month. No one had ever told him and truth be told he had never wanted to know, keeping to the mindset that ignorance was indeed bliss. The most interaction he had with females during that time were on missions and it was mostly, whining and moaning and a hell of a lot of mood swings, violent mood swings in Sakura's case. Poor Naruto had finally gotten the hint after she put him through three trees for his teasing. Ah well, he had to learn sometime.

Kakashi headed to a store, grabbing a basket and saunters down the aisles, his eye taking in everything around him. Bringing out his list he glanced at it, recalling the lecture she had given while writing it all down for him. Dark chocolate: he had wondered out loud why it had to be dark, which sent Ino into yet another mini lecture (apparently exasperated that the male populace was so obviously ignorant to women's problems).

"It has to be over 70 percent cocoa to help relax the muscles. Green tea or peppermint tea, for the caffeine craving which helps soothe cramps and the bloating. Some pineapple juice or just the fruit in general to cut up and enjoy, relaxes muscles and helps bloating. Bananas, also helps with cramps and bloating," Ino explained with her head down, pen running rapidly along the papers surface.

She had also suggested that he stock up on more things she would need, albeit with a slight smirk on her face watching his expressions (well the ones she could see in the lone grey eye that was visible anyway) as she wrote things down for him. Guess the look of horror that crossed his eye had been quite hilarious as she doubled over laughing. Sakura hadn't gone to the store for a while and her stock was pretty low. Rubbing the back of his neck, he contemplated where to start this odd treasure hunt. Dragging a hand down his face in exasperation, man he had it bad if he would submit himself to ridicule with no thought to himself, but truthfully he really didn't care, not if it affected her.

He would do anything... even... purchasing... gulp... female... products.

In all his 34 years of living, he had never done such a thing, venturing into this unknown world. He never had to, and he had been just fine with that fact. Most of his life was spent alone, curled up with his beloved Icha Icha books or a few one night stands to take the tension away. He had never wanted or needed anything more, until three years ago when Sakura had turned 18 and his world had been successfully turned upside down.

He remembered showing up to her birthday after a six month mission had kept him away in Wave Country. Where it rained; constantly. Turning him into a human sponge and his ninken into whiny walking mops. Terribly boring mission really. Walking through the reception door he scanned the crowd for familiar shapes determined to make this quick. In and out, no questions asked. Since he had missed her last couple of birthdays Tsunade had threatened to take him off active duty and assign him to the academy for three months, to which he replied he would be home on time with present in hand. He shuddered remembering that horror… nothing worse than teaching little genins about weapons. That in and of itself seemed to be a really stupid idea, children plus sharp pointy objects equals disaster in his opinion. He had been trying to teach them how to attach chakra strings to the weapons so when they threw them they could pull them back with ease and needless to say it hadn't ended well.

He had never really been comfortable with big shindigs like this and he wanted to find the birthday girl, give her his present and head home to his quiet apartment and maybe a nice hot shower. 'Ahh indoor plumbing, a gift from the Kamis,' he mused silently.

A familiar soft feminine laugh brought his attention to the far corner where a mountain of presents lined the wall and a group of people were congregated around in a circle. Squinting his eye as the crowd parted a little, he started walking closer to investigate when he froze in place, his grey eye widening as he took in the most gorgeous creature he had ever seen. Starting at two dainty feet which were strapped into some very classy black heels, delicate ankles, up legs that looked like they went on for miles... very lovely legs that looked like they belonged on a gazelle. Up to a stunning little black dress, the hem hitting her mid thighs, nicely curved hips, small firm stomach that he could see clearly as the dress fit like a second skin, a modest bust being accented by a sweetheart neckline. A long graceful almost swan-like neck and as she turned a bit more he spotted the most deep emerald eyes he had ever seen on a person that were being brought out from the coal lined around them. No one had those color of eyes ever. He had been around the world and not once had he ever seen such a beautiful mix of deep emerald. They were so familiar that he didn't really have to continue to look up but did anyways. Why stop now, he reasoned with himself. Long bubble gum colored hair piled on top of her head with a few curls that managed to escape framing her petite face. His heart thudded in his chest, almost making him forget to breathe… When had she grown up so much? How did he miss such a beautiful creature? From six months ago to now, she had to have gone through quite a dramatic transformation. One that he was so glad to be able to see the ending result to.

Kakashi stood there, in the middle of the room stunned. It admittedly was a first for him, not knowing what to do, how to handle a situation. He was a genius after all, a porn reading, habitually late, lazy, Elite Jounin. Kakashi smiled, though all anyone could see of the smile was a slight creasing of his one eye, as he recalled how her eyes met his and he was almost drawn over to her. His feet taking him over to her before he even noticed he was moving.

"Kakashi-sensei," Sakura whispered almost reverently, a moment before she threw herself at him giving him no time to think only to catch her in his arms, thoroughly surprising the jounin yet again. Her arms tightened around his neck, gripping him like he was a dream and would evaporate any second if she didn't hold on. A tiny smile graced his features before his own arms tightened around her tiny waist in response, leaning down a bit and whispered into her ear, "I'm home, Sakura-chan. I'm home."

What started as a reluctant obligation became his saving grace. After that, they started going on missions together, having a drink together to celebrate surviving another day, basically being attached at the hip. Which really surprised anyone who knew the Copy Nin. He was never one to get too close to anyone, always keeping people at arms length. So to see him become the Cherry blossoms shadow was rather surprising, but then again they all saw how well they got along and how each of their personalities complimented each other. So to the ones that knew them the best, they saw the budding friendship as being inevitable and a nice change in them.

"The best two man team they had in the Hidden Leaf," Tsunade had said. No one had the mission ratings those two did.

Over the years they grew closer, a tight knit family, with Naruto and Sai of course and now Kakashi couldn't see himself spending the rest of his life with anyone else.

Straightening his back determined to get the things Sakura needed... he would do this, and dammit if anyone thought him a wuss for willingly helping out the one he holds dearest he wouldn't think twice about introducing them to Thousand Years of Death. A small evil chuckle slipped out of his mouth successfully scaring a store clerk, but before the little man could scurry away Kakashi caught his wrist and very politely asked where he could find each item, never stuttering, his gaze never wavering as he listened to the frightened man.

"Oh and where might I find the aisle with women's hygiene products?" Kakashi asked with a smile.

"Those are in aisle eight..." the clerk responded in a high squeaky voice.

"Thank you" He replied as he sauntered away, leaving the quivering man rooted to the spot and wondering what in the world a badass shinobi need with...feminine products? The Copy Nin whistled as he strolled through the store, adding the tea he knew she would like. 'Mmmm the peppermint smells good.' The pineapple juice and, of course, a fresh one for small slices if she so desired, and a bunch of bananas.

Spotting the candy aisle, he made a beeline for it, his gaze flitting over the many different kinds of chocolate. 'I never realized just how many different kinds there were.' Spotting the dark kind, he picked up a few bars and made for aisle eight. As he stepped over the threshold his eye widened trying to take in all the different boxes, and shapes and sizes of the products. 'Oh Kami, I am so glad Ino wrote it down for me, otherwise I would be lost. Lost in a sea of pink boxes.' Taking out the little piece of paper, Ino had shoved in his hand before he left, he glanced at the neat penmanship. 'Definitely easy to read hers, while Sakura says mine resembles chicken scratch.'

Picking out just the right kind, he made his merry way to the register, raising a few eyebrows again as they rang up his purchases. Kakashi paid them no mind though mostly because he had his famous orange covered book in front of his face again. He had, after all, years of practice ignoring the public around him as he walked by with his nose in his romance novels, so this was nothing new to him. Collecting his purchases, he made his way back to Sakura's, tucking his book back into his hip pouch as he made chakra enhanced leaps from roof to roof, slipping through her front door in record time. A slightly pained groan came back to him while he poured her a large glass of juice and cut some fruit for her to nibble on. Making his way from the kitchen, he paused seeing her laying on her side in the fetal position, but the sight of his ninken curled around her eased the tense line in his shoulders. Shooing the dogs to the floor, he put the tray down on her coffee table and brought her into his lap proceeding to massage her abdomen as he handed her the juice. She took a sip and groaned with relief while his fingers felt heavenly against her.

"Thank you Kashi-kun" she whispered, her head turned a bit to show her small smile and slightly sleepy eyes. He leaned in to kiss her ear and whispered back, "I'm home, Sakura-chan. I'm home."


End file.
